Egbert

I'm in the beginning stages of planning a trip (and convincing Mrs. Egbert) to Galicia next summer.
We've never been to this part of Spain. Our interests would be beautiful places near the coast, really nice beaches, really good seafood, and maybe some culture and a bit of Asturias. My first draft is:

Fly Boston to Madrid to Santiago for 2 nights. Rent a car and drive to Muros, Carnota (beach), and Finisterre for one night. Then to Ribadeo or Rinlo for one or two nights. Then Gijon for two (drop off car), on to Leon or Salamanca for 2 nights and back to Madrid for a couple nights.

Should we just stay in Galicia and visit the southern part, Ribera Sacra and more inland spots?
I would welcome anyone's two cents, opinions etc. on this rough beginning of an itinerary. Thanks!

isabel

Can't really help you as I have not been there but in fact I am currently planning a similar trip for next July. Also from Boston. I'm curios what flights you found from Boston to Santiago - obliviously not direct, but even with connecting I couldn't find anything to that region. So we're thinking of flying in/out of Madrid and just renting the car there. Can't wait to see what replies you get.

Did you see there re a couple current trip reports on the area.

kja

Although I didn't make it to Galicia, I did visit (and enjoy) Asturia and Leon on my 2015 trip to Spain; you might find some useful information in my trip report:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-catalunya.cfm
or in the planning threads I used while still considering Galicia:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...n-may-2015.cfm

I visited Salamanca in 2004, and thought it an absolute delight. I gave it 2 very, very full days and could easily have used more time there.

Hope that helps!

ribeirasacra

Too many stops.
SdC to Muros is about 3/4 hours drive.
Muros does not have anythign historical about it.On the plus side it is said to have a lot of resturants. (But then so do a lot of other locations!)
Finisterre the town is not a lot either. The light hosue is and on a good day you should get a nice sunset there.
If you are staying on the north coast of Galicia only to see praia das Catedrais then ensure you prebook your entry tickets and look at teh tide times to se if are there at low tide. If not you will not see a great deal. It can be very busy.
Gijon has not got great beaches. Maybe stay somewhere near to Cudillero the best beach nearby is Playa de Aguilar.
You can still drop the car off as planned.
But maybe you should use it until León.There is a High spped train (AVE) between León and Madrid.
You say you are thinking about the Ribierasacra. Why, what attracts you there? How will you fit that in the seven days vacation?

cruiseluv

When I visited Gijon a few years ago it left me cold, stayed a few hours and took the bus from there to another coastal town , Luanco. I was just doing a day trip from Oviedo and have never driven in the area so cant comment too much more, other than say I wouldnt stay in Gijon nor spend any time there.
I love inland of Asturias as well, Cangas de Onis and Covadonga area in the mountains.

Bedar

There are some nice beaches in the area but be aware that the water is icy.

isabel

ribeirasacra - could you elaborate about the praia das Catedrais. I know it needs to be low tide but I didn't know about pre-booking an entry ticket. How do you do that? How do you find out when low tide is? Thanks

Egbert

Thanks everyone for replies so far.
Isabel I just assumed I could fly into Madrid and get a flight to Santiago, I may be wrong. kja, Salamanca might get two nights for sure. ribeirasacra, thank you so much, I don't know much about Galicia but have wanted to go for awhile. I'm going to have to re-think the stops. I guess I'm interested in the Ribera Sacra because I love Albarino wine but I know you can get it anywhere in Spain. I was really hoping to combine seeing a good part of Galicia along with beautiful ocean towns and beaches in the middle of the summer to substitute for our normal Cape Cod summer vacation. Maybe I should include Vigo and Islas Cies? Maybe trying to combine beach and culture in a week is too much.

Egbert

Okay, maybe this is smarter, two nights in each place.
Start in Leon, rent a car and drive to Cudillero, then Santiago, then Vigo or Islas Cies, then back to Madrid to fly out.

frencharmoire

I agree with ribeirasacra and I think you will find that it is very slow driving along many of these roads, especially along the coast, with so many, many inlets -- there is a scarcely a straight line anywyere.

I mainly went to Galicia to eat, but I don't think you would have a lot of difficulty have a mixing destinations of culture and beach time, so long as you don't try to cover the waterfront. For instance, I think the town of Pontevedra near Vigo is really charming and, given how late the Spanish dinner hour is, you could very easily sleep in Pontevedra but be spending most of the day at the beach.

For what it is worth, I flew to Madrid and got a flight to Porto, and then rented a car to drive from there to Galicia (Vigo is not far, and the lovely town of Tui is on the way). However, I did go back to Portugal after touring Galicia, so I'm not sure what extra fees would be incurred if you dropoed off the car in Spain.

Have a great time. Almost everything I did in Galicia was an adventure because it is really so much off the beaten track in so many ways. Generally speaking, I was happiest when I was enjoying that it IS off the beaten track (and has terrific food and wine) rather than the few times I ended up spending long hours behind the wheel, thinking I should try to see a lot of "things". In itself, it's a very interesting part of the world with outstanding beauty. I very much enjoyed the towns with historic features, but I also enjoyed being in a different culture that wasn't selling tourism to tourists. It's a different world.

ribeirasacra

There are some nice beaches in the area but be aware that the water is icy.
Not true.
Video published just the other day about the temps in October. Summer it was even hooter.
http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/video/g...9662003001.htm
The good thing is that the beaches are now almost empty.

ribeirasacra

Access for the Praia de As Catedrais:
https://ascatedrais.xunta.es/monatr/...ver-05?lang=en
Even with these "controls" it is now super busy: http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia...610X8C1995.htm
Tide times: are on this page: http://www.playadecatedrales.com/mareas.php
click the words "PDF Ver Tabla de Mareas" That will download a PDF of the tide times. At the moment it is for 2026. Yes is says 2013 but that was not updated
@250.000 visited the past summer. Obviously this does not include the rest of the year. Glad I visited years ago.

ribeirasacra

Egbert sounds like a much slower paced plan.
Watch the airline prices are between Vigo and Madrid v SdC and Madrid.
The later maybe cheaper and more frequent.
Car hire options maybe also better.
The road trip between Vigo "area" and SdC airport will be around an hour depending on where you stay. You should take the toll road to make the trip quicker.
Staying in the area I would suggest Cangas, easy for a ferry to the Islas Cies. Plus you have easy access to the beaches on that peninsular.
http://www.cangas.gal/index_turismo_gal.php
you can hire a tent and stay over night on the Ilsa
http://campingislascies.com/
Ferry prices and routes
https://www.mardeons.es/es/viajes/is...ios-y-tarifas/
a suggestion of mine is alternatively look at Sanxenxo to base yourself.
http://www.spain.info/en/que-quieres.../sanxenxo.html
http://www.sanxenxo.es/index.php?idMenu=38&idIdioma=2
Personally do not like Vigo too much. The area suffers when cruise ships dock, (both in Vigo and in SdC).